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Ryanair might have to sell its stake in Aer Lingus because of concerns that its holding could damage competition on fares and routes, the Competition Commission said yesterday.

In a preliminary ruling, it said that the 29.8 per cent shareholding could obstruct Aer Lingus’s ability to strengthen itself in the budget airline market.

Michael O’Leary, the Ryanair chief executive, criticised the commission’s decision as “bizarre and manifestly wrong”, and said that it was potentially in breach of European Union law because the European Court of Justice was considering the same issue.